The book provides a solid and unitary mathematical foundation of the basic and advanced principles of aerodynamics. The densities of the fundamental solutions are determined from singular integral equations. The fundamental solutions method in aerodynamics was considered for the first time and used by the author in over 30 papers published in prestigious journals (e.g. QAM, AIAA, ZAMM, etc) in order to develop a unitary theory. The boundary element method is used for numerical approximations in compressible aerodynamics. The text incorporates several original contributions, among other traditional mathematical methods. The book also represents a comprehensive presentation of research results since the seminal books on aerodynamics of Ashley and Landahl (1965) and Katz & Plotkin (1991). A rigorous mathematical approach is used to present and explain classic and modern results in this field of science. The author has therefore conceived several appendices on the Distribution Theory, the singular Integral Equations Theory, the Finite Part, Gauss Quadrature Formulae, etc. The book is concluded by a relevant bibliographical list which is especially useful for researchers. The book is aimed primarily at applied mathematicians, aeronautical engineers and space science researchers. The text may be used also as a comprehensive introduction to the mathematical foundations fo aerodynamics, by graduate students n engineering and fluid dynamics with a strong mathematical background.

Vom Verlag:

The researchers in Aerodynamics know that there is not a unitary method of investigation in this field. The first mathematical model of the air­ plane wing, the model meaning the integral equation governing the phe­ nomenon, was proposed by L. Prandtl in 1918. The integral equation deduced by Prandtl, on the basis of some assumptions which will be specified in the sequeL furnishes the circulation C(y) (see Chapter 6). U sing the circulation, one calculates the lift and moment coefficients, which are very important in Aerodynamics. The first hypothesis made by Prandtl consists in replacing the wing by a distribution of vortices on the plan-form D of the wing (i. e. the projection of the wing on the plane determined by the direction of the uniform stream at infinity and t he direction of the span of the wing). Since such a distribution leads to a potential flow in the exterior of D and the experiences show that downstream the flow has not this character, Prandtl introduces as a sup­ plementary hypothesis another vortices distribution on the trace of the domain D in the uniform stream. The first kind of vortices are called tied vortices and the second kind of vortices are called free vortices.